No doubt about it and yet, as Sweden's foreign minister Carl Bildt says, 'there's room for improvement.'

Sweden is the second best country in the world for inventors. This according to a large survey conducted by, among others, Cornell University. Only Switzerland is better.
The report, which is published for the sixth year, measures infrastructure, legal rights, freedom of press, political stability, educational level, the value of the stock market as well as a number of other items.

On a scale with 100 as the maximum, Sweden receives 61.4 and Switzerland 66.59. Last of the 142 countries included in the survey, is Yemen with 19.3. England is number three, Holland number four, and the U.S. five. Foreign Minister Carl Bildt commented on the survey with a twitter post saying: ”Nice to see that the Global Innovation Index ranks Sweden second in the world. Well, there’s still room for improvement.”

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The GII 2013, which was released this summer, looked at 142 economies, using 84 indicators, gauging both innovation capabilities and measurable results. The report is co-published by the World Intellectual Property Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations; Cornell University; and INSEAD.

Check out the report here: GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX 2013 (You'll find a great deal of accessible illustrations; the fictional global innovation dream-team or trends, such as last year's biggest climbers on the ranking (which includes Bolivia, Uganda...)